A Scavenger's Story
by KestralCrystal569
Summary: Sunny thought they could find the Eye of Onyx and stop the war, and her search lead her to a burnt scavenger den. From there everything changed and Sunny gains a new understanding of Scavengers in every aspect. But will she find her friends and the treasure and stop the war? First fic, no flames please.
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING!: This takes place in the fifth book. If you had not read it yet then don't read this! There are some spoilers! **

**A/N: I noticed that each dragonette had some kind of encounter with scavengers, and this story was originally planned to be about the scavengers they met but something happened in my head and it changed into this, yet I actually like it better this way. Still one of my first fics. Bound to be some mistakes and jumbled words, and I am sorry for any of it.**

**In the meantime, Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Statue <strong>

Gold coins and jewels tumbled out of the sack and bounced through the ashes of the burnt scavenger den. The small jewels and coins formed a small pile in front of Sunny. She had bargained with two scavengers she found to give them the treasure she knew they stole form the Sandwing Palace. The biggest object in the pile was a statue of a dragon carved from blue stone, with emeralds for eyes. _The Lazulite Dragon, _Sunny thought but she could only guess from what she remembered (which wasn't alot) from the scrolls about the missing treasure.

_It has to be here, _Sunny thought as she started sifting through the small pile looking for the Eye of Onyx even if she didn't know what it looked like. Her heart sank after she went through it even if the first glance gave her the answer. There was nothing here that looked like it, just tiny jewels, worthless coins and the mysterious Lazulite Dragon.

But no Eye of Onyx.

"This isn't all of it! Where is it?" Sunny cried whipping around to face the two scavengers in front of her "Where is the eye of onyx?" They stopped chattering and jumped back sensing the dragon's anger, and tried to look as innocent as possible from what Sunny could guess.

"You must have it! Where else could it be?" Sunny started pacing. She could feel smoke rising from her snout and she knew she was scaring the scavengers. Yet they didn't run away. "I need the Eye of Onyx, it's my only chance to stop the war!" She stopped and faced them. "How am I supposed to end the war without it?"

The female scavenger Sunny named Holler, yibbled tentatively back at her.

"Well said," Sunny replied, even if she had no idea what she said, "That's very helpful." She then sat down and frowned crossly at the pathetic pile of treasure.

Miffed, Sunny picked up the Lazulite Dragon to get a closer examination. It was beautifully sculpted of bright blue stone with specks of gold scattered all over and had beautiful emeralds for eyes. As she looked at those eyes a strange tingling crept all across her scales, she tried to pull her gaze from the sculpture's but couldn't. Sunny began to panic as the tingling spread all over, turning painful and a sense of wrongness enveloped her from horns to talons. The Lazulite Dragon's eyes was the last thing she saw before the world tunneled and went black.

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><p>Sunny woke to the sound of voices.<p>

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! We can't bring her underground, she's a dragon!" said a voice that sounded nearby, it sounded male.

"Not anymore and besides look at her, she obviously needs help. What are we going to do? Leave her out here?" argued a shrill voice, also nearby, this one sounded female.

Where am I? What happened? Why do I hurt so much? Sunny couldn't stop a small moan from coming out as she shifted position. Her body felt different too. Why couldn't she feel her wings or tail?

Sunny heard footsteps approach closer to her.

"She needs help." The shrill voice said determinedly, right above her.

"But- ugh! Fine! But how are we going to explain this? Just tell them she's a dragon that turned human right in front of our eyes and, oh yeah, she also kidnapped you for a ransom of treasure! What will the rest of the clan say-"

"Clay? Tsunami?" Sunny moaned "Starflight?" The fog of sleep was lifting from her head, and she wondered if the voices she was hearing were her friends. She opened her eyes gingerly. Sunny found herself on her stomach, her face against the ashy dirt. She slowly pushed herself off the ground with her forelegs and looked around. The sky was still dark and the ruins were bigger than she last remembered. And the two scavengers were standing over her, bigger than she last remembered. She looked at them perplexed.

"Fluffy? Holler? What-?" What happened, how is this possible? She was a dragon, she was bigger than any scavenger. Then she looked down at her talons.

They weren't talons, but the stubby hands and scaleless skin of a scavenger. Fear replaced her bewilderment and she somehow found the energy to jump back with a high pitched bird-like yelp. She tried to land but her wings and tail weren't there to gain balance, and her hind legs were too long and clumsy. She fell on her back with an 'umph', and stayed there, her mind racing. _What happened to me? Why is my body so different? Did I… change into… a scavenger? No, that's impossible! Isn't it?_

Fluffy and Holler move to stand over her again. Sunny started twisting around as much as physically possible to get a good look at herself. Her golden scales were gone, along with her wings and useless tail. Golden colored fur fell into her face and around her shoulders more than once and tan colored cloth covered her shoulders, midsection and legs. She was a scavenger, just like to two that watched her now with mixed emotions in their dragon-like eyes.

"Are you okay?" Holler asked. Sunny was shocked that she could understand the words coming out of Holler's mouth

"H-how can I understand you? What happened to me?" Sunny asked, hysteria in her voice. The two scavengers looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation as to what to say to the distressed dragon-turned-girl in front of them.

"We have no idea how to tell you this but…" Fluffy started but trailed off, looking very uncomfortable. It was as he was talking that all of Sunny's recent memories came back to her.

"The Lazulite Dragon! It did this!" Sunny suddenly gasped, sitting up fast. That startled the two scavengers back a step. Without thinking, she got on her back legs and reared up straight. It felt weird but she hardly noticed and started pacing back and forth, instinct telling her how to move her new form.

"Or did it?" Sunny said talking to herself, trying to figure out how it happened to her. "If it did then it must be animus touched. But I don't remember any scrolls about it being so, let alone it being able to change a Sandwing into a scavenger! Ugh, if only Starflight were her, he would know!" Sunny whined, but that thought lead to a realization of a new problem, "Wait! My friends! How am I going to get back to my friends if I can't fly! Oh no, this is bad! This is just so-"

"Um, excuse me," Sunny's despairing rant and pacing was cut short by Fluffy's confused voice. "But, um, what are you, um-"

"What are you talking about? What Lazulite Dragon, what's animus, what's a scavenger, Who's this Star-flight, and what friends, you're a dragon!" Holler finished what Fluffy was going to say plus several more questions added on. Sunny was momentarily stunned again at being able to understand scavengers and all the questions pointed at her, then her senses came back to her along with the situation.

"Um…" was all she could say, because she didn't know where to begin. _I guess just start talking. _Sunny looked around till she found where the Lazulite Dragon was and pointed at it with her odd scavenger paws. "That's the Lazulite Dragon, and it's what I believe turned me into this." She gestured to her new form, while picking up a foot to examine it, and balanced on the other. But she was still unused to her new form and promptly lost her balance and started waving her forelegs around in a very undignified way. She caught herself just before she fell face first into the ashy dirt. With a sigh of relief she righted herself again and looked back at Fluffy and Holler.

Holler looked like she was slightly amused, where Fluffy looked confused. Sunny, trying to hide her embarrassment, moved on to the next question. "Um, animus is magic or magic related. And a scavenger is what you are." Sunny answered, almost over the shoulder as she started really looking around at her surroundings or at least what she could see within the light of her torch and the moon. It was disorienting how big everything was now that she was so small.

"Wait, did you call us scavengers? We're humans, and you are a dragon no matter what you look like." Fluffy said rather defensively.

"Humans? No I don't know what humans are, but you're scavengers." Sunny replied back returning her attention to them, curiosity obvious in her voice.

"No, we're… wait could that be what dragons call us?" Holler started but ended as a question directed at Fluffy, who just shrugged in return. "Is it?" Holler turned back to Sunny.

"Well, yeah, that's what all dragons call you, because we always see you scavenging for, whatever it is you want." Sunny replied She looked around at the pitch black horizon, she saw the silhouette of Jade Mountain and looked south to where she thought the rainforest was. Her friends. How is she going to get back to her friends before Queen Scarlet did.

"What about your "friends"?" Holler said as if reading her mind.

"My friends…" Sunny said wistfully continuing to look south. "Clay, Starflight, Tsunami and Glory. I have to get back to them. They're in danger, I have to warn them…" Sunny trailed off and started to anxiously pace again. Fluffy and Holler just gave each other quizzical looks not understanding what the young dragon-turned-girl ment.

They were all startled when a voice called from the dark.

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><p><strong>AN: Let me know what you think of it, and please point out any mistakes in character or anything else. I won't notice it otherwise. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ta-Da! The second chapter! Sorry if it's a little short but I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>"Hello? Jake? Rhina? You out there?" A voice called startling everyone.<p>

Sunny heard Fluffy mutter something under his breath that didn't sound so kind.

"Who's that? Your friend?" Sunny asked, but guessing not from seeing their sudden tension.

"I knew this was going to happen! What are we going say?" Fluffy loudly whispered.

"We tell them the truth. I mean it's not like she's still a scaly, fire-breathing, monster anymore, she's not going to kill us all."

"Hey! We are not monsters!" Sunny exclaimed, offended at such a remark towards her kind. _Well, actually I know a few someones who really can be called monsters. _Sunny reflected afterwards.

"_Shhhh! _Quiet down!" Fluffy shushed her with a harsh whisper, but it was too late, the voice already heard them.

"Jake? Rhina? That you?"

Sunny saw Holler glare at Fluffy before turning and raising her voice to answer.

"Yeah, it's us. We're fine." Fluffy just looked irritated but made no move to stop her. "Where are you?" The voice called again

"Over here!" Holler yelled back, and heard faint footsteps approaching. Sunny suddenly had a bad feeling about meeting the other scavengers, and started to back up. But she had only gone a tail length when a scavenger male walked into the torchlight and saw them. Sunny froze.

Sunny could tell he was older than the other two, with weathered skin and a few wrinkles, and his hair was surprisingly gray and short. He was short and stocky and had an air of authority but it wasn't demanding and was, actually, quite warm.

"Oh, there you are. Are you alright? I thought you said there was a dragon but wha-" The scavenger stopped talking when he noticed Sunny behind Holler and Fluffy. "Who are you? I didn't know you found someone else. Hello there, " He said staring at Sunny.

"Hi. I-I'm Sunny." she stuttered out an answer, her normal friendliness dampered by the confusing situation, but she stopped backing up.

"Well, Sunny nice to meet you." The scavenger male greeted. Sunny was about to reply but Fluffy beat her to it.

"Yeah, we… saved her from the dragon, but it flew off. Yeah." He said, rather rushed and uneasy, the other male just grunted as if also noticing his behavior but deciding not to comment. An uneasy silence followed. Sunny spent the time fidgeting under the male scavenger's gaze. She was about to say something when Holler interrupted.

"She's a dragon!" Holler almost gasped excitedly.

"What?!" Both males exclaimed in surprise, but for different reasons. Sunny just remained silent, muscles tense and ready for whatever to come.

"You're saying… that _she's_ a dragon?" the other male asked incredulously, pointing at Sunny,

"She is! Tell him Jake!" Holler said to Fluffy, who apparently is named Jake. Jake sighed in defeat even though an argument hadn't taken place.

"Rhina's right, she's a dragon, but can we not discuss this outside." Jake said with a cautious look at the sky. Sunny was about to tell them that she doubted any dragons would be around but as she looked around and saw a sandwing silhouette glided across the sky. The older male, after glancing around as well, nodded in agreement.

"Right, come on." the other male whispered and while Sunny was looking at the silhouette to see if she recognized it he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with Holler and jake following close behind. He pulled her away from the torchlight and out of the corner of her eye saw a sparkle of blue stone. The Lazulite Dragon.

"Wait! The statue!" Sunny exclaimed and tried to go towards it but the man's hand was too firm.

"Oh no you don't, dragon-girl. I don't care how much you want that gold, but our lives are more important." He said in a whisper and shushed her to be quiet and pulled her away from the small pile of treasure.

"I don't want the gold! but I need to get that statute because it's the only chance I have to turn back!" Sunny whispered desperately, still pulling at the hand that held hers. He reasoned it for only a second.

"Rhina, go get it. And put out that fire too!" he softly called. Holler went to go do as she was told. She found the discarded sack that held the treasure, kicked over Sunny's torch and beat out the flames, then grabbed the Lazulite Dragon along with some other treasures, including the dreamvisiter as Sunny saw, and rushed back.

Satisfied, Sunny let the man pull her towards one of the destroyed buildings, the one she remembered had a set of collapsed stairs. She watched as they pulled aside a burnt wooden board at the base of the stairs and revealed more stairs leading down. Jake lead the way down followed by Rhina and Sunny while the other male held it open, and once everyone else was through secured it back in place, cutting off the light of the moons and putting them in darkness.

Sunny wished she was still a dragon so she could breath fire to see but she heard a metallic click and a scraping sound and saw a small flame, surrounded by glass and a metal wires, ignited. The faint light illuminated the staircase and the stony walls enough for them to see and they started to go deeper underground.

No one talked as they went. After a while of descending down the dark stony stairs that reminded her too much of the caves she grew up in, Sunny started to hear dull ruckus up ahead and she thought she saw another glow that wasn't from the small flame. The flame showed that they arrived at a thick wooden door at the base of the stairs with seams of orange light coming through. Jake, up in front, knocked on the door and stepped back. A moment later a smaller door creaked open spilling light into the dark stairway at eye level and another scavenger appeared on the other side. She couldn't see it's face clearly because of the light behind it but it's voice was warm and sounded male.

"Jake! Rhina! Glad you came back, I was starting to worry about you with that talk of a dragon- Who's that?" He greeted but his voice suddenly became cold as he glared at Sunny.

"Listen, Leif. I know this is going to be hard to understand but this here is Sunny, she's a dragon." The older male told Leif stepping up to the front of the group to face the scavenger in the door, who from what she could see he had an incredulous and surprised expression. "Leif, would I lie about this?" The older one pressed some more.

"Fine," Leif sighed and closed the little door for a moment before the whole door swung open and the man behind it stepped aside to let them pass "Just take her to Kel first, see what he'll do with her." He said, and he gave Sunny a glare as she walked by. The entered a lit, short hall that split at the end and was lined with barrels and supplies. Just before they started to walk down the short hallway beyond the door Leif spoke again. "Wait. I want her tied up."

"What? Leif that's-" Rhina started to protest but got cut off.

"I don't want a dragon running around our home without some kind of restraint." Leif reasoned grabbing a nearby pile of rope from a pile of supplies beside the door.

"It's okay, I don't mind. I wouldn't have stolen anything anyways." Sunny said holding out her hands to be tied up, Leif grabbed one, tied it, then turned her around and tied the other one, forcing her arms behind her back. Satisfied, Leif sent them on their way. The older male led the way through the carved stone tunnels periodically lit with torches and Jake and Rhina walked around Sunny to go meet this Kel.

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><p><strong>I have the next chapter written but I'll have to re-write it, and I'm sorry but I'm terribly lazy and it might take a while, hopefully not too long. Tell me what you think so I can keep writing. <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well that took less time then I thought (good luck finding a writer saying that) and I have the reviewers and all you other readers to thank for that! Enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Sunny would've been worried if the sight in front of her didn't take her breath away.<p>

It was a large open area carved from stone that arched high overhead in a dome leading to several doors and archways on the ground, Sunny could only guess that they went to other parts of the large complex. The open area was filled with tables covered in various objects like dinnerplates and cups (which looked to be the most common) various tools and projects, maps, and other little flames in glass and metal, also creating light.

There were a few scavengers hanging around the tables but she knew that was because it was the middle of the night, but Sunny could just imagine the energy of the place during the day. But most of all she was shocked at their similarity to dragons.

She wasn't able to absorb anymore of the breathless sight before she was pushed along and into the center of the area itself. She was in the middle of their group with the older male in front leading her with Jake and Rhina behind. And their entrance did not go unnoticed, even though none approached to ask questions, Sunny still felt their stares bore into her. She couldn't help but remember that birdcage in the sky palace where she was displayed for all to see.

The first male led them to a an archway on one side of the great dome and continued to lead them through several more corridors and archways, turning left and right till Sunny was completely lost. Finally He stopped at another large wooden door and knocked.

"Hey Kel, you in there?" he called.

"Yeah, come on in." a muffled voice replied from behind the door. He opened the large door with a _creak_ and our little group walked in. It was a cozy room even if it wasn't small, a rug was on the floor and tapestries hung on the walls, a large table in the center with several chairs but only one was occupied. An older scavenger male with grayed fur on his head and chin and weathered skin sat at the end, on the table in front of him were what looked like several sheets of paper and a small, slim stick in his hand. _Almost like what Flower has. _Sunny thought.

"John! Good to see you, what brings you here?" The grayed scavenger greeted the one that lead them here, then he caught sight of Sunny. "Who is that young lady, and why is she restrained?" He didn't sound angry or accusing just confused.

"She's why I've come to disturb you. You see, I'm not sure how but apparently she's a dragon." John explained. Sunny could only assume that this was Kel, and his reaction to the news was a shocked calm.

"What?" He said shocked. "How?"

"I would like to know myself. It was these two that found her." The male that lead them there, whose name is John, said gesturing to Jake and Rhina. Jake stepped up to explain.

"It's true sir. A dragon caught us as we were heading back from a patrol. I guessed it wanted treasure and it was holding Rhina captive. I came back in to get some from our treasury, we got it back, and when I came back out…" He paused after he pointed to the bag in Rhina's hand and shared a glance with her. "I gave it to the dragon. It looked through it till she picked up that blue dragon statue we have in the treasury and she somehow turned into an human. I don't know any more about how it happened, but it did and I wasn't wanting to tell you like this." Jake explained with a sigh. The other male didn't reply just absorbed this information, and stared at Sunny.

"_Are_ you a dragon?" He finally asked, directing the question at her. Unsure what the consequences would be, if any, if she answered. She hesitated, but answered anyways.

"Yes." She simply said, looking for any hint of aggression from any of the scavengers before her. She found none, just what she thought was curiosity. Kel made a grunting sound.

"Did you... do this to yourself?" The male asked again, gesturing to Sunny's new body as means of explaining what he meant.

"No, and I don't know how it happened either, but I think it's a kind of animus curse." Sunny explained openly.

"Animus?" The Kel asked

"Dragon magic, but that doesn't matter. We need to decide what to do with her." Jake said before Sunny could go into the long explanation. Kel stared at her for a moment.

"Why are you here?" He asked. Sunny knew he would be asking questions but it never occurred to her they would ask this.

"I-..." She started. _Could I tell them why? Could I tell them that they caused a massive war, killing thousands of dragons, and I need the Eye of Onyx or else more will die? Would they give it to her if she told them it was for a good cause? _"Uh…" Kel's face started to loose it's warmth and a suspicious gleam appeared in his eyes, Sunny also felt the stares of Jake and Rhina at her back along with John's at her side.

"I came to stop the war!" She burst out suddenly feeling the pressure of the stares.

"What?" she heard Jake say behind her along with quizzical looks from everyone else.

"What war? Is one coming?" Kel asked a new attentiveness that made Sunny uncomfortable under his attention.

"N-no, it's been going on for twenty years." She stuttered again.

"What war? I don't know of any war among the clans that's been going on for that long." John said, wondering aloud.

"It's not these 'clans', it's between the tribes." After seeing the quizzical looks Sunny added. "The dragon tribes. And me and my friends are the only ones that can stop it." She looked around, hoping to see sympathy, understanding even an offer to help, but all she saw were relieved faces.

"Oh, okay…" Kel said softly, lost in thought.

"Okay? It's _not _okay! Dragons are _dying,_ we have to stop it!" Sunny said desperately

"Why did you come _here_ then?" Kel asked. Thinking that if she said this much she shouldn't keep information away from them, especially if they could help her.

"To find the Eye of Onyx. Do you have it?" Sunny said hopefully.

"The what?" John said obviously confused.

"The Eye of Onyx. It was part of the treasure stolen from the Sandwing Palace twenty years ago. It's the only thing that can stop the war without any more dragons dying." Sunny explained

"Sandwing Palace?" Jake asked. Sunny couldn't help but roll her eyes and stomp her foot in exasperation at how little these scavengers knew.

"Yes the Sandwing Palace! You know, the giant sandstone fortress in the middle of the desert with all the…" Sunny stopped before she could describe the stench of dragon heads on stakes all around the place. "Never mind."

"You said this was twenty years ago?" Kel asked, a distant but serious expression on his face.

"Well, more like eighteen but, yeah. Why?" Sunny corrected curiously.

"Because I was one of the three that entered, and one of only two to leave." Kel deadpanned. The other scavengers didn't seem to react to this statement but it shocked Sunny, who actually took a step back.

"Y-you-?" Sunny couldn't get anything other than that out of her mouth in her stupor. _He _was the one that stole the treasure, killed the queen and started the bloodiest war in Pyrrhia's history, that left thousands of dragons dead for no reason. Sunny remembered that starving dragonette in the streets of the Scorpion's Den, the field of dead dragons outside mudwing territory, the innocent seawings murdered in the Summer Seawing palace, the ghostly hopeful singing of the prisoners in the skywing palace as they sang 'The Dragonettes are Coming'. She remembered it all, and more. Yet a strange calm came over her.

"Do you know what you did by stealing the treasure?" Sunny asked numb, but left no time for an answer. "By killing the Queen? You caused the biggest war any dragon has ever seen."

"The Queen? Do you mean the one we found chasing us as we ran for our lives across that forsaken desert?" Kel said, his voice gradually growing more irritated.

"I can't tell you that because no dragon really knows what happened, but the Queen died that night and left her tribe in chaos along with the rest of Pyrrhia." Sunny said looking at it with a more neutral standpoint. "Every dragon thinks it was you. That's why...they…" _Burned down your den. _Sunny trailed off before she said that.

"Hm, that's why they sought destruction, huh?" Kel deadpanned staring intently at Sunny and she had a feeling he was blaming her for the destruction outside.

"I had nothing to do with what they did! I wasn't even an egg when it happened."

"How old are you?" Rhina asked offhanded, curious.

"Six, but most of that time was spent under a mountain." Sunny said quietly, waiting for Kel's response.

"You're only six years old? Wow." Rhina said, amazed. But Sunny didn't want to change the subject so she just stared at Kel, not responding to Rhina.

"Where are you from?" Rhina asked after no response came, Kel looked to be deep in thought.

Sunny sighed at the lack of answers from the lead scavenger and instead answered Rhina's question, "Nowhere really, but it depends on what you-"

"John, take Sunny here to one of our unused rooms to spend the night in. I would like to speak with all of you again tomorrow. Jake and Rhina, you can go to your rooms for a well deserved rest. Good night." Kel said getting up and nodding to them before going through a door in the back of the room.

John nodded and placed a hand on Sunny's shoulder to lead her away. Rhina looked ready to argue but Jake stopped her with a look that reminded her who she would be arguing with and how it would end if she did. They left the room similar to how they entered. Together the group traveled down the many stone hallways, at one point Jake and Rhina went down a separate hallway leaving John to escort her to her room alone.

Sunny just felt numb with both exhaustion and disbelief at not finding what she was hoping for, the Eye of Onyx, being turned into a scavenger and not being able to get back to her friends, and finally she was a prisoner yet again and this time she knew no one was coming to break her out.

They finally arrived at another wooden door a short time later. This door, Sunny could tell, was thinner and made from less sturdy wood. He opened the door and Sunny followed him inside. It wasn't cozy like Kel's room but it wasn't quite cold either, it had one bed and one nightstand with a candle on it along with a chair and a small desk with some other objects on it that Sunny didn't have the energy to try and identify but she knew the bed well enough.

"I know it's not the best but it's what we can offer you for now." John said kindly untying the rope from around her wrists. Sunny rubbed them gently, surprised how easily they got hurt.

"Thank you." Sunny said numbly, normally she wouldn't say that to her captors but she had yet to see chains or weapons of any kind pointed at her and this room given to her actually looked comfy when she knew they could give worse.

"Good night." John nodded and exited the small room, closing the door behind him and leaving Sunny alone for the first time since she arrived.

Her mind wanted to sit and think about everything that happened and plan a way to get back to her friends before Queen Scarlet got to them. But her body was heavy and clumsy with exhaustion and wouldn't allow her to sit in one place for too long without falling asleep. So Sunny decided to think about it tomorrow and crawled onto the bed and closed her eyes. Within moments she was asleep.

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><p><strong>AN: ****Well there you go, tell me what you think in a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Alright here's chapter four for your enjoyment!**

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><p>Sunny gasped awake as soft knocks sounded on the door. A creak followed as it slowly opened. Sunny jumped up a mixture of hope and fear at who was behind it. A candle came into view and illuminated a scavenger's face.<p>

It was Rhina.

Sunny opened her mouth to say something but Rhina shushed Sunny silent with a finger over her lips. She pulled back into the hallway to check for anyone roaming the halls and came into Sunny's room, closing the door with a quiet thump. As soon as it closed Rhina started talking.

"Hi again. Sorry I woke you up and snuck into your room and I'm probably going to keep both of us up but I just had to ask you." Rhina rushed out.

"Um… okay, ask me what?" Sunny said hesitantly.

"First, you never answered where you came from." She said looking expectantly at Sunny. Sunny could already tell that Rhina was a very curious girl and would risk her neck if it meant getting an answer. Sunny also knew that if she didn't answer now Rhina would pester her till she did.

"I don't have any particular home like other dragons, but my egg came from the desert, somewhere near what's call the Scorpion Den. Yet I was raised in a series of caves under a mountain, but me and my friends escaped and have been flying all over since. But I guess I could say I came from the rainforest south of here, that's where all my friends are now." Sunny finished, Rhina listened intently the whole time, not interrupting even if Sunny saw a question on her face.

"Wow. I can't imagine…" Rhina trailed off, amazed at the the idea of Sunny's life as a dragon. "What's it like being a dragon?"

"I don't know, what's it like being a scavenger?"

"Hm, good point, but can't you compare it now that you're like this?" Rhina asked, gesturing to Sunny's new form, making her own good point. Sunny thought for a moment before replying.

"I've only seen a few scavengers in my life, but I have read scrolls about them-"

"Dragons have scrolls? How? I thought they didn't have a language" Rhina interrupted.

"Yeah we do, and you do too right?" Sunny asked unsure, Rhina nodded like it was the most obvious thing but gestured for Sunny to continue. "I read that scavengers were too stupid to have that. But," Sunny added before Rhina, with an angry expression, could correct the statement. "I never believed that. I knew that they were smarter than the scrolls said because their eyes were too much like a dragons." She finished almost wistfully. Rhina paused before replying in a more serious tone.

"I've heard some of the men here talk about dragon eyes being too similar to humans to be mindless monsters. But that just made them hate dragons even more knowing they could be so similar."

"I guess dragons and scavengers are more alike than either know." Sunny said, sounding like Starflight to her slight dismay.

Rhina nodded in agreement and paused, thinking of another question to ask. Realizing she might be here for a while, Sunny made herself comfortable on the bed.

"Oh I know," Rhina burst out, back to her normal self. "I saw you with a woman in that dream with the sapphire. Who was she?"

"When you visited me with the dreamvisitor? That was Flower, she was staying with me the night you visited me with the sapphire. She's in the Sandwing Palace in the middle of the desert." Sunny realized just where she was going and continued more tentatively. "She was captured after the palace guards found her, that night when scavengers raided the palace eighteen years ago. She was left behind." Sunny watched Rhina closely to see her reaction.

"You mean… She's not dead… she's alive? How?" Rhina demanded an intense look in her eyes.

"One of the dragons there, Smolder, he's the leader of the guard, kept her safe from the others and has kept her as a kind of pet."

Rhina had her mouth open in shock but Sunny saw no hint of anger on her face, only revelation at the new information.

"Tha-that changes everything! Kel was so sure that she died, he was heartbroken." Rhina said, then gasped. "We have to rescue her!" She looked ready to charge out into the desert by herself.

"Now? By yourself? That'd be stupid. A scavenger could never make it in, a dragon can't!" Sunny said getting up and grabbing Rhina's outstretched hand, keeping her from rushing out.

"Bu-but…" Rhina half protested.

"I said she's safe. And I trust Smolder to keep her that way." Sunny soothed. "We can tell everyone else tomorrow. It's the middle of the night. We should be sleeping." Sunny reasoned, giving a huge yawn in response to the word 'sleep'.

"I guess." Rhina said dejected, "But I have one more question. Can you tell me more about this war between dragons?" she said gently.

Sunny was surprised at Rhina's genuine interest but was not looking forward to retelling the horrors of the war. She started talking anyways.

"It's horrible. Dragons die every day in bloody battles just because three sisters dragged the whole of Pyrrhia into it. There is so much death. I've seen mere dragonettes killed as soldiers and even younger ones orphaned because their parents died. Hardly any dragon is nice to each other and each tribe hates everyone else. The queens are terrible and cruel but they don't have a choice, they're either threatened into alliance or are too deep in the war to do anything but fight. Some enjoy the bloodshed more than any dragon should." Sunny said, her words growing faster and more passionate as she went deeper in the explanation till she was ranting.

"And then you have the Nightwings who believe they can just make a war between the innocent for their own gain. And my friends and I were raised in a horrible cave with guardians instead of our real parents. We grew up to believe that we were destined to end the war but… it was all a lie." Sunny sat down with a depressed huff, during her rant she had gotten up and started pacing without meaning to. Rhina only stood by quietly watching as Sunny told about the horrible war between dragons.

"I have to believe that me and my friends can still stop this war, with or without a prophecy. We're still the only ones in Pyrrhia able to do so and no one else is willing." Sunny let out another depressed sigh "Including my friends." she added quietly.

"Can you tell me about your friends?" Rhina asked gently, watching Sunny with unreadable eyes.

"They're more like siblings really. Tsunami is really loud and bossy and impulsive but she's really nice too and tries to take care of everyone else. Glory hates that about her and can be kind of moody but she still cares. Starflight is so nice and timid and smart, he knows almost every scroll in the library, he's the one that keeps Tsunami in line. And then you have Clay, he's our bigwings, without him we all would've grown up to hate each other. He's the one that protects us all and keeps us from fighting." Sunny said a smile on her lips. Talking about her friends did cheer Sunny up from talking about the war.

"Now I have a question for you." Sunny said to Rhina, "Why did you want to ride on my shoulder? I thought all scavengers were scared of dragons."

"They are but I'm just crazy." Rhina said with a chuckle, "I grew up hearing about evil dragons. How they burned the old city and killed Magnolia along with so many others. I don't know it just didn't seem like the whole story. I've only heard stories and seen dragons from a distance. I grew curious. And then when I met you, a dragon that didn't kill us on sight, of course I was terrified at having a dragon so close, but... I don't know, it was stupid but I just had to see if I could find the truth. Honestly I was surprised you understood what I wanted." Rhina explained.

Sunny took it all in with utter fascination, this was the first time she could freely talk with a scavenger. Oh if only Starflight were here, he would love to record this.

"Ha, you wouldn't believe the tongue-lashing I got from Jake when we reached our rooms. He was telling me how stupid I was and how he's blaming me for the situation we're in now. But he dug his own grave when he outright lied to Kel's face." Rhina laughed cheerfully. Sunny couldn't help but smile with her, Jake acted a lot like Starflight, it seemed, always following the rules.

"Oh man, I wonder what Kel has in store for us tomorrow." Rhina said with sudden realization, she then turned to Sunny, "Just as some advice, try not to act like… a dragon."

"That makes no sense. I'm still a dragon, I'm just a scavenger right now." Sunny said confused.

"What I mean is just lay low, don't draw attention to the fact that you're a dragon. A lot of people here hate dragons, I think you were lucky that it was me and Jake that found you and then John that found us, we're more tolerant than others. A lot of loved ones have died because of dragons. I'm afraid of what would happen to you if word got out." Rhina explained sincerely, worry on her face as she looked at Sunny.

Sunny understood completely. A few times some of her friends had to stay in hiding or were treated badly just because they came from a certain tribe. Often for the same reason as these scavengers. Sunny nodded in agreement. Only then did she notice just how heavy her head had become.

Sunny yawned as her body demanded sleep. Rhina yawned a moment later. The late time of night caught up to them.

"Alright we need to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be interesting I just know it. Good night Sunny." Rhina said standing up.

"Good night Rhina." Sunny said back and watched as Rhina picked up the light she had set on the nightstand earlier and headed to the door. She checked the hall before looking back, smiled at Sunny and disappeared, leaving Sunny alone in her room again.

Sunny liked Rhina. She seemed like a good friend to have, and she honestly cared for how Sunny was treated. Rhina's warning to lay low rang in her head well after she said it. Sunny wasn't able to think about it much and was only able to spend a moment thinking tired thoughts before crawling back in bed and falling asleep, again.

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><p><strong>AN: Whew that was long! Now that you read it tell me what you think! Do the scavengers react reasonably? Does Sunny? Feel free to give me ideas on what happens next.**

**SHOUT OUTS! (because I can't thank you in any other way)**

**frostbite - Yes in a way, if not defiantly in love with each other. **

**Guest - THANK YOU SO MUCH! I feel so honored that you like it! I have no intentions of killing this fic and hope to keep it going as long as possible.**

**Everyone else who reviewed - Thank you! All of your reviews mean a lot to me and I hope I can write good enough for you all to enjoy it!**


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